Refrigerating apparatus



March 2, 1937. c. A. sTlcKl-:L- 2,072,187

REFRIGERATING APPARATUS Filed June 50, 1953 7 Sheets-Sheet 2 March 2, 1937. c. A. sTlcKEL 2,072,187

REFR IGERATING APPARATUS Filed June 50, 1933 7 Sheets-Sheet 3 March`2, 1937. v c. A. s-rlcKEL: I '2,072,187

\ REFRIGERATING APPARATUS l Filed June 3o, 1933 7 sheets-sheet 4 HH' fm1 Fnj' gk March 2,1937. y c. A. sTlcKEL l 2,072,187

REFRIGEMTING APPARATUS Filed hun@ so, 1953 'r sheets-sheet 5 BY ATcJr-abnaYS-l l March 2, 1937. c. A. sTlcKEL. 2,072,187

REFRIGERATING 'APPARATUS Filed June :50, 1953 7 sheets-sheet e NVENT R l @QM ATTORN EY 41311211 2, 1937. Q A, sTlCKEL REFRIGERATING APPARATUS '7 Sheets-Sheet '7 Filled June so, 1955 6:00AM 9:00AM

T/ME HouRs ,F'zfj Carl A. sefffo `lingual Mar. 2, 193'/ UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE REFRIGERATING APPARATS Carl A. Stickel, Dayton, Ohio, assignor, by mesne assignments, to General Motors Corporation,

acorporation of Delaware Application June 30, 1933, Serial No. 678,449

12 Claims. l

tibles, and secondly, to manufacture ice cubes.

To accomplish the second of these functions, it is, of course, necessary to ,operate the evaporator, or at least a portion thereof, at a temperature below 32, and to accomplish the first of these two functions it is necessary to so proportion the heat' transfer surfaces of the evaporator to the amount of air flow thereover that the temperature of the air will not be reduced below the temperature required in the food storage compartment.

The operation of the evaporator at a temperature below 32'o necessarily causes an accumulation of frost on the surface thereof, caused by the condensation of moisture from the circulating air andthe freezing on the surface of the evaporator of the condensed moisture. The frost accumulated on the evaporator is, Aof course, an in sulating material to a certain extent and hinders or retards the transfer of heat between the air to be cooled and the refrigerant within the evaporator. For this reason it has been necessary to provide some way of Vdefrosting the evaporator. Heretofore this has been done manually by merely disconnecting the refrigerating apparatus from the electrical circuit, for instance, by pulling the plug out ofthe socket in the wall. In addition, it has been suggested to use a device in combination with the apparatus for automatically at predetermined intervals, stopping the operation of the refrigerating apparatus to ,permit the temperature of the evaporator to increase to a point above 32 suiiicient to cause a melting ofthe frost.

These automatic devices, however, that have ,been suggested. have generally been so timed so to operate at intervals of one week, two weeks, or at least several days and, in addition, no means has been provided for assuring that the automatic device will not become operative at a time when the refrigerating apparatus is most desired.

It is the'object of my invention to provide an automatic' device for causing defrosting of the evaporator at frequent intervals and at the same time to overcome the heretofore mentioned objections to prior automatic devices.`

A further object of my invention is to provide in a refrigerating apparatus that is provided with means for obtaining a rather low or dessert freezing temperature, an automatic device for defrosting the evaporator, which device is so related to the refrlgerating apparatus as to be automatically made incapable of operation during the time that quick freezing or a low dessert temperature is employed. i

A still further object of my invention is to provide an improved automatic device for defrosting the evaporator at frequent intervals, for instance 4, 5, or 6 times a day so that the accumulation of frost at any one time Will be so small that only a very short period of time will be required to defrost the evaporator, and consequently, refrigeration will be practically uninterrupted at any time.

It is another object of my invention to provide defrosting mechanism which will automatically restore the refrigerating apparatus to its normal operation after the defrosting is completed; and particularly a mechanism which may be operated as a fully automatic mechanism or a semi-automatic mechanism for defrosting.

Another object of my invention is to provide means for indicating each periodic defrosting cycle.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, wherein a preferred form of the present invention is clearly shown.y

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a view, partly diagrammatic, of a refrigerating system embodying o`ne form of my invention;

Fig. 2 is a view of the control apparatus, somewhat similar to Fig, 1, but showing the contro mechanism in defrosting position;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view along the lines 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view along the lines 4'-'4 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view somewhat similar to Fig. 3 but showing the control apparatus with temperature regulator adjusted to provide colder evaporator temperatures;

Fig. Fis a top view of the control apparatus;

Fig.7 is a fragmentary vertical view of a portion of the temperature regulating means;

Fig. 8 is a sectional view along the line 8 8 of Fig. 7;

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary view of the indicating means and semi-automatic control means shown at the front of Fig. 6;

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary view of the support for the toggle defrosting mechanism; 5 Fig. 11 is a front view of a modified form of control mechanism for the refrigerating system shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 12 is a vertical sectional view along the lines |2-I2 of Fig. 11;

Fig. 13 is a front view of the temperature regulating handle and indicating means;

Fig. 14 is a sectional view along the lines |4-|4 of Fig. 12; and

Fig. 15 is a sectional view along the line |6-I5 of Fig. 12;

Fig. 16 is an evaporator temperature-time graph of a refrigerating system provided with a control such as is shown in Figs. l to 10 inclusive showing normal cycles; a chronometric defrost cycle and a semi-automatic defrost cycle;

Fig. 1'7 is an evaporator temperature-time graph of a refrigeratingsystem provided with a control such as is shown in Flgs.,l1 to 15 inclusive showing cycling in various positions of the indicating handle 228. j

Broadly speaking, my method includes, til

steps of refrigerating -process,fsuch as evaporatf ing the liquid refrigerant, compressing theeiporated refrigerant, condensing the compressed refrigerant .and returning the liquid@v refrigerant `,to the evaporator forfurther evaporation. In addition, it includes the `stepgof automatically atvery frequent intervals maintaining the vdevice inoperative .for a very short period of` timewhereby the temperature of the evaporator is permitted to rise to a point above 32".. l v

Referring to the drawings andmorej'particularly to Fig. 1, there is shown a refrigeratii'ig system including a compressor 2li for compressingrefrigerant and for forwarding thel compressed refrigerant to a condenser 2| vvheretliey compressed refrigerant is liquefied arid` collected in a receiver 22. From the receivrf22j,`the liquefied refrigerant is forwarded throng asupply conduit 23 to an evaporator "f2 eres,

in the liquid refrigerant enters vthrougha suitable float control valve, such as is shown in the-'Os-` born Patent No. 1,556,708. The liquid refrigerant within the evaporating means: 24 evaporates because of the absorption of heat from the food compartment within which it is located and from the ice trays, not shown, and this evaporated refrigerant is returned to the compressor through the return conduit 25. The compressor 65 20 is driven by the electric motor 26 through suitable pulley and belt means 21. The operation of the electric motor 26 is controlled by a control means 21 which has as its primary operating means, a metal bellows 28 which is connected by a tube 29 to the return conduit 25 so that this bellows is therefore responsive to thel pressure and therefore the temperature of the evaporating means 24. ,Y

The pressure responsive bellows 28 is mounted upon a platform 35 provided with legs 36 at either end. Surrounding the bellows 281s a sort of a cage 31 which limits the expansive movement of the bellows to prevent the distortion of the bellows under high pressure conditions. This cage 31 also has a bearing portion 38, formed as a part thereof, which supports the pivot pin 39 whichin turn pivotally supports one end of the main switch lever 40. At the free or opposite end of the main switch lever 40, there is provided a 75 second pivot pin 4I upon which is pivotally mounted a secondary lever 42 having a snap acting cam 43 at one end and having a link 44 connected thereto at the other end which connects the secondary lever to a movable switch 45 which cooperates with a stationary switch contact 46 to open and close the electric circuit 3| of the electric motor 26.

In order to open and close the switch contacts 45 and 46 with a snap action, there is provided a lever 48 pivoted at its lower end to an inverted U-shaped standard 49. A spring 50 is provided urging the lever 48 in a clockwise direction about its pivot pin. At the upper end of the lever 48 there is provided a cam roller 5| which bears against the surface of the cam 43 at the end of the secondary lever 42. The secondary lever 42 is provided with the snap acting movement by this arrangement since when this secondary lever is moved downwardly by the main lever 40, the cam roller 5| will be caused to ride over the nose of the cam 43 so that a quick movement in a clockwise direction will be impressed upon the secondary lever 42 to open the contacts 45 and 46. Likewise, when the Amain lever moves upwardly, the cam roller 5| will move from the upper portion 'ofthecaml c i'its nose to the lower portiniof tl'i`e"cai-" i"thus will impress a quick counteicligidjsemovement upon the secondary ,leveftliereby quickly moving the `switch contacts-45 and"46back to closed circuit position.

In order toopen'the electric motor circuit 3| at the proper temperature of the .evaporating -means 24 and to close the circuit at the proper vtw'ee'njtli'e platform. 35 and a pair of nuts 55 threaded,l uponf the threaded rod 53. Likewise,

Vbelowtheplatform35 there is provided a smaller Lco'il ispringfBSjwhicl/J isAheld between theplatform 4"ancla-a.paliizof .ntsf'l mounted upon the lower lend-oftl'ieithreadedrod-53. The adjusting of the nuty'slfaridil"provides the so-called range adjustmentfor the switch. mechanism, that is, by

alierin'gthe,.posi'tionof th'ese nuts, both the opening van'cifclosingv temperatures will rbe moved substar'itiallyanfequal amount in the same direction. In J'ordertoprovide the so-called differential adjustment, there is provided an adjusting means 60 mounted at the top of the inverted U-shaped standard 49. This adjusting means 60 has a spring pressed plunger 6| which is limited in its downwardmovement but which is adapted to be engaged by the head 62 upon the free end of the main lever 4 6 when the main lever is in the upper portion of its path of movement. The spring tension uponvthe plunger 6| is adjusted by a pair of nuts 63. Y Inasmuch as this spring pressed plunger 6| only affects the main lever 4|) in the upper portion of the path of movement, it only affects the closing temperature of the switch and therefore provides a means forA adjusting the differential in temperature between the opening and closing of the switch.

In order to temporarily lower the temperature of the evaporating means for the purpose'of rapidly freezing desserts and ice cubes, I provide a simplified manual temperaturelregulating means or control whichmay be operated at will by the user..I to"obta'.in'lower, evaporating temperatures. This temprature regulating means has a knob 18 on the outside of the switch enclosure 1| which surrounds the switch mechanism.

Referring now more particularly to Fig. 7, there is shownA aregulating member 12 upon the 5 inside of the switch enclosure 1|. This regulating member is connected to the knob 1-0 through the upper wall of the enclosure 1|. The knob 18 is provided with a set screw 13 `for maintaining the knob upon the regulating member 12. The l regulating member 12 is provided with a cavity having a triple thread 14 therein. 'Threaded into this cavity 14 is a threaded member 15 which is provided with a slot 16 through which projects a member 11 to prevent its rotation. The mem- `l` ber 11 is riveted to a bracket 18 fastened to the upper wall of the switch enclosure 1 I. Referring nowmore particularly to Fig. 1, there'is shown a tension coil spring 19 having its upper end connected to the lower end of thethreaded member 20 16 and connected at its opposite end to the main switch lever 48.

- By thisptemperature regulating means when the knob 18 is turned in a clockwise direction, the threaded member 15 is moved upwardly, thus increasing the tension upon the temperature regulating spring 19 so as to aid the bellows 28 in moving the switch contacts 45 and 46 to closed circuit position. This will cause the evaporating means to be maintained at a lower temperature so long as the knob 18 remains in this position. When the knob 18 is returned to its original position, the refrigerating apparatuswill again be restored to normal control.

As mentioned in the first portion of this application, in order to freeze ice cubes and desserts, it is necessary to operate at least a portion of the evaporating means at temperatures below freezing. This causes the accumulation of frost upon the surface of the evaporating means, and in order to maintain the eiiiciency of the refrigerat-l` ying system it is necessaryto periodically remove this frost. Heretofore this has been done merely by shutting oithe refrigerating apparatus and thereby allowing the temperature of the evaporating means to rise sothat the frost is melted therefrom. After the frost was melted from the evaporating means, it was then necessary to again start the refrigerating apparatus. However, the re-starting of the refrigerating apparatus was often neglected andIftherefore provide means by which the evaporating means may ybe defrosted and at the end of the defrosting period the apparatus will be restored to normal control. I also provide means whereby this defrosting may 559be performed completely automatically or 'semiautomatically. In order to perform this defrosting completely automatically, I provide a chronometric means comprising an electric clock motor 8| which is mounted upon the rear wall 'of the 60 switch enclosure 1|. However, if desired the pawl and'ratchet wheelmeansshowniin'f'igs. 12 perfto l5 inclusive, maybe used initsv Y nio, iii-` urnfdriv'es another gear 85.3 Thisgear'85jhasfa tripping 'pin 86 mounted thereon which once every revolution 70 is adapted to engager/the tripping bar 81. 'I'he opposite end of the tripping bar 81 is pivoted to a control lever 88. This control lever 88 is in turn pivoted by means of the pin 89 to the bracket 18. 'I'he upper end of the control lever 75 l88 is forked so as to engagea cam 98 which sury cating handle |82.

rounds the temperature regulating member 12 and forms a part thereof. When the temperaturecontrol knob 1841s in one position, such as that. shown in Figs. 1 to 4, 7, and 8, automatic defrosting cycles are provided at timed intervals. 5 This is accomplished by the position of the control lever 88, which holds the free end of the tripping bar 81 in the path of the pin 86 mounted upon the gear 85. The tripping bar 81 rests upon a U-shaped toggle lever 92 which is pivoted to a 10 standard 93 mounted upon the base 35. The closed end of the U-shaped toggle lever,92 has a tension coil spring 94 connected thereto. This tension lcoil spring extends to an adjustable anchor plate 95 which is mounted upon the pin 96 15 projecting from a standard 81 extending above the bearing portion 38. An adjusting screw 98 extends from the standard 91 and is threaded into the adjusting plate 95 for moving the adjusting plate 95 so as to vary the tension upon the toggle 20 spring 94.

When the pin 86 upon the gear 85 strikes the free end of the tripping bar 81, the tripping bar moves the free end of the toggle lever 92 downwardly pastits tripping point so that the center 25 line of the toggle spring is below the pivot of the toggle lever. This causes the toggle lever 92 to be movedfrom the position shown in Fig. 1 to the position shown in Fig. 2. In the position shown in Fig. 2, and more particularly in Fig. 3, 3o the toggle lever 92 rests upon a cam bar 99 which is pivoted to the lower end "of the control lever 88. This cam bar 99 rests upon the top of the main lever 40 and exerts the spring pressure provided by the toggle mechanism which includes 35 the spring 94 and the toggle lever 92 upon the main lever so' that an additional vresistance is provided to the upward movement of the main lever 48. This resists the pressure within the bellows 28 so that a higher pressure `and therefore a 40 higher temperature is required within ,the evaporating means to overcome thev resistance or spring pressure ofi the toggle mechanism, before the switch contacts 45 and 46 may bey moved to closed' circuit position. The tension of the toggle 45 spring 94 is so adjusted that this temperature is several degrees abovefreezing so that the frost will melt from the cooling unit before the/refrigerating system is again started. As the resistance of the toggle'mechanismv is overcome by the 50 pressure within the bellows 28, the main leverll is moved upwardly, carrying the cam bar 99 and the toggle lever upwardly with it, and finally moves the toggle lever a sufficient amount upwardly until the center line of .the toggle spring is above the center line of the pivot pins so that the toggle lever is returned to the position shown in Fig. 1. The gear 85 preferably makes several revolutions each day so that at predetermined time intervals this toggle mechanism is set sp as to provide a defrosting cycle. j

' Referring now vmore particularly to Fig. "10, it will be seen that a' shaft 18| is riveted to the U- shaped toggle lever'andfor'ms one of its pivots.

Referring now (more particularly to Figs. 6 and 9, it will be seen `'thattl'iis` shaft "|8I extends forwardly from the switch mechanism and passes through the front portion of the switch enclosure 1|. Upon the front or outer end of this rod or shaft ||J| there is mounted an ornamental indi- Cooperating with this indicating handle |82 there are provided, indices, indicating "oi and defrosting" positions. Thus,

This shaft thereforermove'swith the toggle lever 65 with this mechanism each defrosting cycle will be indicated by this indicating handle during the entire time that the defrosting lever is resting upon the cam bearing 99 to provide a defrosting cycle. At the end of the defrosting cycle the indicating handle will return to "oif position along with the toggle mechanism, thus indicating that the defrosting mechanism is not in operation.

This indicating handle is also employed to provide the semi-automatic defrosting. Thus, whenever it is desired to provide a defrosting cycle of the semi-automatic type, it is merely necessary to turn the indicating handle |02 to' defrost position and this will move the toggle lever 92 to its position upon the cam bar 99 for a defrosting cycle. This defrosting cycle will be terminated inthe same manner as the fully automatic chronometric cycle, since the upward movement of the main lever 40 will return the toggle lever 92 to its upper or inactive position.

When it is desired to freeze desserts or ice cubes, it is often undesirable to have a defrosting cycle occur, since this will delay or even prevent the freezing of ice cubes during the defrosting period; in fact, the defrosting period usually Will cause either the dessert or ice cubes to melt. In

order to prevent this, the cam 90, which is formed as a part of the temperature regulating member 12, when moved to colder than normal position, will pivot the control lever 88 in a counterclockwise direction so as to move the tripping member 81 out of the path of the tripping pin' 86 upon the gear 85. In this connection, in order to interrupt any defrosting cycle, should a defrosting cycle be in operation when the temperature regulator is moved to a colder than normal position, the cam |03 is provided at the free end of the cam member 99 for moving the toggle lever 92 to its upper or inactive position. In

this way when the temperature regulating mechanism is in use, freezing of ice cubes or desserts will not be interrupted by the occurrence of a defrosting cycle.

If the temperature regulating knob 10 is moved so as to move the cam 90 to an intermediate point,

have provided a chronometric periodic defrosting means as well as a semi-automatic defrosting means, all of which are controlled and correlated with the temperature regulating mechanism so that when the temperature regulating mechanism is moved to a lower than normal position, no defrosting cycle will occur; I have also provided means by which each periodic defrosting cycle is indicated by the indicating handle |02.

In Figs. 11 to l5 inclusive, a modied form of control mechanism is shown for performing similar functions.

Referring now more particularly to Fig. 11, there is shown a switch, somewhat similar to that shown in Fig. 1, having a platform 20| with a bellows 202 mounted thereon which is connected to a main lever 203 which in turn is connected to a secondary lever 204 provided with a snap acting cam roller mechanism 205 at one end and a set of switch contacts 206 at the other end. The main lever is also provided with a range adjusting means 201 and a differential adjusting means 208. The bellows 202 is connected to the return conduit 25 similarly to Fig. 1.

Referring now more particularly to Fig. 12, the main lever 203 is shown in cross section in approximately the center of the figure. This main lever 203 has a bracket 2|0 welded thereto to which is fastened the lower end of a tension coil type of temperature regulating spring 2| The upper end of this temperature regulating spring 2|| is connected to one end of a horizontal lever 2|2 which is pivoted at 2|3 to a vertical standard2|4 mounted on the base 20|. 'Ihe other end of the horizontal lever 2 |2 is connected by means of a slotted connection to a cam follower 2|5 which is adapted to move vertically within a pair of guides 2|6 and 2|1. At the lower end of this cam follower 2| 5 there is a compression coil spring 2|8 which has its lower end resting against the guide 2|1 and its upper end resting against a washer 2|9 which in turn rests against a pin 220 passing through the cam follower 2 5. This spring therefore urges the cam follower -2I5 in an upward direction. The upper end of the cam follower 2|5 is provided with a rounded nose 22| which extends into a cylindrical cam groove 222 of the cylindrical cam 223. The cylindrical cam 223 is both slidable and rotatable. The central portion of the cam slot or groove 222 extends more than three-quarters of a revolution around the cam 223 without deviating in an axial direction. As shown more clearly in Fig. 14, this portion of the cam is provided with a raised temperature regulating portion 224 which gradually increases in height and then returns rather sharply as shown at 225 to its former position with respect to the cylindrical surface of the cam 223. The cylindrical cam 223 is slidably mounted upon a squared shaft 226 which permits the cam 223 to be moved axially with respect to the shaft but requires the cam to move with the shaft when the shaft is turned.

The front end ofthe shaft passes through a plate 221 which is supported from the base 20|. The outer end of the Ishaft 226 is provided with a temperature regulating indicating handle 228. The plate 221 is provided with indices cooperating with the indicating handle 228 to indicate the various temperature regulating positions, namely I, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6. As shown in the figures, the indicating handle 228 and the entire mechanism is set for number one temperature regulating position. When the indicating handle 228 is moved to the position 2, the cam 223 is moved in a clockwise direction so as to present the rst portion of the raised temperature regulating portion of the control cam 223. As mentioned before, this portion of the cam groove 223 extends gradually upwardly in a radial direction similarly to the form of a spiral. This portion of the cam groove 222 therefore causes the cam follower 2| 5 to be gradually moved downwardly. The degree of this movement depends upon the degree or amount which the indicating handle is moved clockwise from the number one position. Thus, the further the indicating handle 228 is moved from number one position, the greater distance the cam follower 2|5 will be moved downwardly and thus the greater distance the horizontal lever 2|2 will be moved in a. clockwise direction to increase the tension of the temperature regulating spring so as to provide an upward pull upon the main le- 75 "im i' thel prongand :the Din will move the ratchet v wheel and travel in a countercl'ockwise direction ver and thereby lower the temperature of the evaporation means.

Upon the indicating plate 221. I have also provided positions indicated by A", which indicates full automatic defrosting; by "D", which indicates fully manual defrosting; and by SA which indicates semi-automaticdefrosting. When the indicating handle ismoved to the position indicated by A for full automatic defrosting. the

-enters the portion of the cam groove 222 indicated `by the reference character 23|. This'portion of the cam groovek222 is inclined to the axis oi' the cam. 223 at an angle of approximately 45. When the .cam 223 is moved so that the cam follower 2|5 enters this angular portion 23|` oi' the groove 222, the cam 223 is moved axially to the left. The cam 223 has a bearing'` portion 232 which extends to the left therefrom and. enters the bearing 23.3 mounted in the upper pjortion of the standardl 2|4. The bearing portionv 232 is `provided vwith a threaded recess- 234 containing a threaded plug'23l which holds the lflanged end of a shai'tz236 which moves axially with the cylindrical cam 223.` but rotates independently thereof. The other end of this shaft 236 is sup ported in abearing 231 in another portion of the standard 2|4'. .A s

Referringnow more particularlyto Fig.- 15, it willbe seen-that-there is :a ratchet wheel 238 which is pinned tofth'e-shatt 231. This ratchet wheel 2331sprovided withca'spring aligning pawl 233 which is fastened toa-portion of the standat a time by anindexing pawl k240riivhich ispiv' oted `to a bracket 24| mounted upon the left side o'i' the main .lever 203 as viewed in Fig.' 12.` The "pawl 240 is spring pressed against the ratchet wheel 238 by a spring 242 which is connected to van anchor `pin mounted in the bracket 24|. As shown more clearly in Fig. 12, ythe bracket 24| has a U-shaped portion which receives the lower end oi' a forked or Y-shaped members-*2.43. This lower endof the member 243 through v boththe' upper, and'lower flanges off-the bracket 24|. '.Betweenthesej upper fend, lower -.fianges there is l.provided-a compression type coil springv 2441which has its lowerendfpressing against the lower flange of; the .bracket 24|v while its upper endpresses againstthe collar24ljwhich is pinned ,to the lower'portion-otgthe. member 243 and which is held against the upper jlange of the bracket 24|-by the tensionof the spring 244. Ihe Y-shaped member v243 has two .prongs at its upper end. `One of these lprongs. 246vhas its side with apin 241 which'iprogi 41issv from the ratchet When the cam 223 'is slid to the leftwupon the squared shaft 226,'the ratchet wheel 238 is also moved to the left so that lthe path ofmovement of the left end of the pin 241 is in-'ali'gnment with beveled so as to prevenifranv 4misengagemeirt be- I -tween"thewpin 241 and theprong 246' should thesebe in axial alignmentwhen the'cam 223 is shifted. Thus, the cooperatingbeveled 'surface l so asvtoprmit the ratchet wheel 233 to .be moved :to theleft to fullautomatic position. 'Ihe move- A. .m `ment of the switch lever 203..will cause thefprong nose 22| at the upper end of the cam follower.

ard2l4." 'I'he ratchet wheel 2`3"8"is indexed a toothV V .the upper portion or' the .prong l246. Thevgside of "the'prong-246and-the end 246,01' the pin-241 are 246 to be moved up and down with `each cycle. The. ratchet wheel will also be turned each cycle and when the-pin 241comes to the bottom position, the top of the prong 248 will engage the under side of the pin 241. 'Ihis will require that the bellows overcome the tension of the compression spring 244 in addition to theother control springs before the main switch lever canagain be moved to closed circuit position. This will, of course, result in a defrosting cycle and will increase the temperature oi the evaporating means so that the frost will melt therefrom. When the frost therefrom and to overcome the tension of the compression spring 244 and the other control springs, the refrigerating apparatus will start and the switch lever 203 will be moved to its lower position. Upon the next upward movement the ratchet wheel 238 will be turned by the pawl 240 so as to move the pin 241 away from the prong 243. In this way so long as the indicating handle is in the position marked A for fully automatic defrosting, periodic defrosting cycles will be provided.

By rotating the indicating handle 228 to the position marked D, a fully manual type of defrosting is obtained. In making this movement,

' the cam 223 is moved further in a counterclock- -.wise direction so that it approaches one end of .this cam groove. In this position the cam 223 has been moved to its extreme left position, thus throwing the manual defrosting arm 250 into alignment with a pin 25| projecting from the bell -crank lever 252 which is pivoted by means ofthe pin 253 to the standard 2 I 4. When the indicating handle 223is'moved to the manual defrosting position marked D, the arm 250 which is fastened tothe right end of the cam 223' engages the pin `25| torotwte the bell crank lever 253 in a clockwise. direction away from its stop pin 254.

This causes the arm 255 of the bell crank lever 252 to engage the link pin 256 which extends from the secondary lever 204 in order to forcibly rotate the secondary lever 204 in a clockwise `direction to open circuit position. This will cause the switch contact 206 to be maintained in open circuit positiony so long as the indicating handle 223 is maintained in the "D position; that is, the

refrigerating apparatus is shut ofi as long as the indicating handle is in this position.

I have also provided means i'or semi-automatic defrosting. This is done by turning the indicating handle almost a complete turn in a clockwise vdirection to the position marked SA, or semiautomatic position. In this turningof the indicating handle 223, the cam follower 2l5 moves through the entire length of the cam groove 222 and enters the opposite vend of the cam groove 222' which is also inclined to the axis "of the cam .at

an angle of about 45. This causes the cam 223 to vbe moved to its extreme right position.' This moves the ratchet wheel 238 to its extreme right position so that theright-end of the pin 241 will have its path oi' movement in alignment with the 'semi-automatic prong 260 which is oppositethe v fully automa-tic prong 246 and which is higher vand provided with a portion of its upper surface beveled. This prong has a fiat portion 26| in its vforward portion which is flanked by a beveled por- -tion .262., Should thisy prong 260 and the pin 241 bein axial alignment', the end of the pin will ride 'hover the beveled surface 262 on to the flat top surface 26| thereby compressing4 the spring 244 to provide a defrosting cycle. If the prong A temperature and pressure within the evaporating vmearishasbecome suflieiently high to melt the 280 and the pin 241 are not in axial alignment when the shift is made, the pin 241 will engage the prong- 280 when the ratchet wheel has been moved step by step sufllciently to place the pin 241 in vertical alignment with the top of the prong 260. At the rear of the flat top portion 25| there is provided a second beveled portion 263. 'I'his second beveled portion is for the purpose of returning the ratchet wheel -to neutral position, that is, its mid position, such as that shown in Fig. 12 so as to terminate the semiautomatic defrosting cycle. Thus, after the pin 241 is engaged by the flat top 26|, the ratchet wheel and the pin 241 will be moved in a clockwise direction so that upon the next upward movement of the main lever 203, the beveled portion 263 of the prong 260 willengage the right end of the pin 241 and move the ratchet wheel 238 to its neutral position. 'I'his will-also move the cam 223 axially and the nose 22| of the cam follower will cause the squared shaft 226 to be turned a small amount so as to move the indicating handle 228 away from the position designated as .Enk.V

It should be noted that this semi-automatic prong 260 is higher than the full automatic prong 246 so that it puts a greater tension upon the spring 244 and therefore requires a higher temperature than' the evaporating means before the switch contacts may be moved to closed circuit position. The prong is constructed in this way for the reason that when semi-automatic defrosting is used it is often done at less frequent intervals so that a greater accumulation of frost is often allowed to accumulate. In order to reduce this frost rapidly, it is desirable to allow the evaporator to come to a slightly higher temperature before normal operation of the system is resumed.

Thus, in this modification I have provided a temperature regulating means, a fully automatic defrosting means, a semi-automatic defrosting means, anda fully manual defrosting means, all controlled by the indicating handle 228 and all coordinated under the control of a single control cam 223 which is effective both axially and radially.

While the form of embodiment of the invention as herein. disclosed, constitutes a preferred form, it is to be understood that other forms might be adopted, all coming within the scope of the claims which follow. Y l

What is claimed is as follows:

1. Refrigerating apparatus including a refrigerant liquefying means and a refrigerant evaporating means, means for normally controlling the apparatus for maintaining said evaporating means at predetermined temperatures, chronometric means 4for periodically acting upon the control means to modify the action of the control means for varying the temperature of the evap orating means, means operable at will for temporarily varying the temperature of the evaporating means, Vand mechanical means rendered effective by said means operable at will for rendering the chronometric means ineffective to vary the temperature of the evaporating means.

2. Refrigerating apparatus including a refrigerant liquefying means and a refrigerant evaporating means, means for normally controlling the apparatus for normally maintaining said evaporating means at a predetermined averagey temperature, chronometric means for periodically acting upon the control means for periodically varying the' temperature of the evaporating means, means operable at will for temporarily varying the temperature of the evaporating means, and means rendered effective by said means operable at will for breaking the operative connection between the chronometric means and the control means.

3. Refrigerating apparatus including a refrigerant liquefying means and a refrigerant evaporating means, means for normally controlling the apparatus for maintaining said evaporating means at water freezing temperatures, means for periodically acting upon the control means for periodically raising the temperature of the evaporating means above water freezing temperatures, means operable at will for temporarily lowering the temperature of the evaporating means, and means rendered effective by said means operable at will for breaking the operative connection between the periodic means and the control means.

4. Refrigerating apparatus including a refrigerant liquefying means and a refrigerant evaporating means, control means for said apparatus for maintaining said evaporating means at predetermined temperatures, a toggle mechanism acting upon the control means for providing temporarily a different temperature of the evaporating means, means for periodically setting said toggle mechanism to obtain periodically different temperatures of the evaporating means, means for temporarily varying the temperature of the evaporating means, and means controlled by said means for temporarily varying the temperature for preventing the tripping of the toggle mechanism by the periodic means.

5. Refrigerating apparatus including a refrigerant liquefying means and a refrigerant evaporating means, control means for said apparatus for maintaining said evaporating means at predetermined temperatures, a toggle mechanism acting upon the control means for' providing temporarily a different temperature of the evap` orating means, means for periodically setting said toggle mechanism to obtain periodically different temperatures of the evaporating means, and manual means for controlling said toggle mechanism.

6. Refrigeratingapparatus including a refrigerant liquefying means and a refrigerant evaporating means, means for controlling the apparatus for normally maintaining the evaporating means at a desired average temperature,

means for periodically increasing the temperature of the evaporating means above water freezing temperatures for providing periodic defrosting cycles, means operable at will for providing a single defrosting cycle and thereafter returning the apparatus to normal operation, and means operable at will for temporarily lowering the average temperature of the evaporating means.

'1. Refrigerating apparatus including a refrigerant liquefying means and a refrigerant evaporating means, means for controlling the apparatus for normally maintaining the evaporating means at a predetermined average temperature, means for periodically varying the temperature of the evaporating means for providing periodicv varied cycles, means operable at will for providing a single varied cycle and thereafter returning the apparatus to normal operation, a second means operableI at will for temporarily varying the average temperature of the evaporating means, and means controlled by said second means when effective for preventing the occurrence of said periodic cycles.

8. Refrigerating apparatus including a refrigi means at a predetermined average temperature,

means for periodically varying the temperature of the evaporating means for providing periodic varied cycles, means operable at will for providing a single varied cycle and thereafter returning theapparatus to normal operation, a second means operable at will for temporarily Varying the average temperature of the evaporating means, and cam means controlled by said second means for rendering ineifective said periodic means and the first mentioned means operable at will.

9. Refrigerating apparatus including refrigerantliquefying means and refrigerant evaporating means, control means for said apparatus for normally maintaining said evaporating means at a predetermined average temperature, a device movable to and from an effective and an ineffective position for acting upon the control means to modify the operation thereof for varying the average temperature of the evaporating means, said device being moved to an ineffective position from an effective position by the action of the control means upon the attainment of a predetermined temperature in the evaporating means, and means for periodically moving said device from an ineffective position to an effective position and then disengaging itself from the device for periodically setting the device to vary the evaporator temperatures.

10. Refrigerating apparatus including refrigerant liquefying means and refrigerant evaporating means, control means for said apparatus for normally maintaining said evaporating means at a predetermined average temperature, means for periodically interposlng a yielding resistance to the actionl of the control means for periodically varying the temperature of the evaporating means, means operable at will for interposing a stiffer' yielding resistance to the action of the control means for varying` at Will the temperature of the evaporating means, said stiffer yielding resistance providing a `greater variation of evaporator temperature than said first mentioned yielding resistance.

` 11. Refrigerating apparatus including a refrigerant liquefying means and a refrigerant evaporating means, control means for said apparatus for maintaining said evaporating means at predetermined temperatures, a toggle over center mechanism acting upon the control means for providing temporarily a different temperature of the evaporating means, means for periodically throwing said toggle mechanism across its dead center position into action upon the control means to obtain periodicallyfdiie'rent temperatures of the 'evaporating means,v and means operableat will for tripping said toggle mechanism. Y

'12. Refrigerating apparatus including 'a refrigerant liquefying means and a refrigerant evaporating means, a movable control means for controlling the starting and stopping of the refrigerant liquefying means to maintain the evaporating means at a predetermined normal average temperature, said movable means thus providing operating and idle periods of the liquefying means, a yielding resistance and chrbnometrically controlled means for periodically interposing said yielding resistance to oppose the movement of said movableV control means' to starting position so as to prolong certain'- idle periods of the liquefying means. f

CARL A. s'rrcmn. 

